And yet another show. Tonight we're off to Wild Rice@ Funan for Tunggu Sekejap: The P. Ramlee Suite and I'm looking forward to more than a few good tunes. A nice way to round off what has been quite a celebratory day in its way.
Its the start of the June vacation, for one. And I got a clean bill of health from my back doc this morning, for two. And, for three, Noi and I are happily recalling 31 May, 1997. The start of something special.
The show I watched on Wednesday night was Phantom of the Opera, accompanying some classes who were attending. I got the impression that the students were impressed, and rightly so, given the stellar production values. But it left me cold for some reason. I suppose the fact I've seen it twice before and knew what to expect didn't help. And I've never really bought into the storyline. The first time I saw it I remember thinking that it would have been a good idea if the phantom did away with the good guy instead of the entirely predictable ending we got. The thinking man's musical it isn't.
But the first time round I enjoyed the music, with which I was pretty familiar from recordings owned by friends like Tony. I was impressed by the seemingly effortless flow of memorable, lush melodies. And I went on Wednesday determined to listen closely to details of the musical arrangements. Only to find it all somewhat banal, a bit flat, more than a bit predictable.
Something's changed. My ears, I suppose.
I once surprised an ex-student when I told him that the thing I thought was most important in a teacher was the capacity to keep going regardless. Some years later I find I haven't changed my mind. The thing I did best today was unheroically to just keep going. That meant hitting my target for marking at 9.30 pm. Happy to say I got there in the end.
It's very odd for me to be out on a Wednesday night in the middle of the working week; and even odder for me to be at the theatre watching a show, without Noi next to me. She was, and is, at the airport, seeing off one of her chums.
And another odd thing: I can't really say I had a great time watching the show in question, well-crafted and well-performed as it was. But it was good to see a lot of people around me, young ones at that, clearly having a good time. Which is all that matters, really.
Noi got back from Melaka, where she'd spent last night and the morning, in time for the Maghrib Prayer and then we chatted about stuff, as usual, ate together, as usual, and watched a bit of the telly, as usual. So a perfect evening, as usual.
As I mentioned a couple of days back, I enjoyed reading Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet - a novel of the plague, about the death of Shakespeare's son (sorry, no spoiler alert, but it's obvious) whilst basking in the weekend sun. But, in truth, I've been enjoying reading it whatever the circumstances since it's just so very, very good. How does the writer know so much about what everyone back then was thinking and what really happened? It's magic - but sleight of hand magic, not the real thing (as practised by Agnes - Ann Hathaway, that is) in the book. She doesn't know (Ms O'Farrell, that is), she couldn't know, but she does. And now, so do I.
What she could know, of course, are the details of daily life in the England, the Stratford, of 1580-ish to 1596 (I think.) She'll have done her research, I guess, but magically it doesn't read like research.
Literature = magic that works. (Like Science, but better in terms of actual spell-casting.)
14.40
It's hot here, very. And I mean hot in that uncompromisingly saturating way that marks High Summer in a Place that has no real seasons. I'm sure most folks are grumbling about the sweatiness of it all. But I love it. Must be my reptilian blood. I can see no other explanation.
Walked across around noon to my workplace and then over the road for a cuppa and a read at the eatery there. Soaked in the warmth gleefully.
18.15
And it was not exactly cool in the gym just now, despite the air-conditioning. Struggled to get a super-sticky t-shirt off after getting back. And now struggling to get another couple of hours of work done to ensure I hit the ground running for the week ahead. But I'm not complaining. (Well, I am, to be honest, but too loudly, I hope.)
20.40
Cheese and tomato sandwiches appropriate for a warm evening now being addressed. Decided to stay cool by listening to Allen Toussaint laying down some New Orleans funk. Loudly. (Good job The Missus is not around to give feedback, eh?)
Made my way up to Holland Village in the middle of the day, in between bouts of marking of the international variety. A good way to shake out the cobwebs.
And it looks like the cobwebs are being shaken around at the village with a new shopping precinct opened now at the back of the old hawker centre. As usual it features the same outlets you see in every mall. Lots of coffee shops. So I took a perverse delight in supping on the cheap stuff from one of the old hawker stalls. Enjoyed reading my book there - Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, in case you are curious - and generally not being part of the crowd.
Now back in my very comfortable, though slightly lonely, homestead and just played a touchingly late version by a very elderly crowd of Pogues of a great song of exile. Suits my outsider mood. Just temporary (the mood) as are all things.
Noi has travelled north to Maison KL with her chum Rohana, leaving me to get on with negotiating the final days of the term. I'm guessing that Rohana makes for better company than myself, weighed down as I am with the Toad, work. So good for Noi!
And not too bad for me, thank you, as she's left me with more than ample provisions and an unstirred silence in which to work - and occasionally fill with varieties of splendid noise.
And now I'm off to munch on a delectable shepherd's pie. Not bad, eh?!
My latest stint as a marker for the International Baccalaureate Organisation is now underway. And I'm reminded right away of what a small world it is in terms of reaching to help colleagues in various nations deal with the vicissitudes of maintaining the same standards when grading essays; and what a big world it is in terms of everyone being in their own time zones. Not easy to keep up a dialogue in such circumstances.
